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taryn bray

For the second week in a row, an FC Dallas player has made MLS Team of the week. This week Zach Loyd made the team with his stellar defensive efforts at centerback helping keep the clean sheet for FCD. In addition, Fabian Castillo made the bench for his offensive prowess on Sunday night.

"D: Zach Loyd (FC Dallas) – The veteran right back helped his team blank Chivas USA on the road, limiting red-hot forward Erick Torres in the process. He's officially back in Oscar Pareja's good graces, and for good reason."

In addition to all the festivities that are taking place in Portland for the MLS All-Star game this week, the Portland Timbers held two Generation Adidas ESP showcases this past weekend and some FC Dallas Academy players were invited to take part.

In the '98/'99 category, the league was divided into three conferences based on location - East, Central, and West. FC Dallas was in the central conference along with Houston, RSL, Colorado, KC, and Chicago. Each conference played the other two in addition to playing FC Bayern Munich's U16 youth team. FCD had four players selected to be a part of the Central team -- Carlos Avilez, Mark Salas, Damian Hernandez, and Lamar Batista.

In the first match of the night last Friday, the East ESP team defeated the West 1-0.

In the second match of the night, the Central ESP team played Bayern Munich and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. Carloz Avilez, Damian Hernandez, and Lamar Batista started during the match and Mark Salas of FCD was loaned to Bayern Munich for the match and played the entire second half for the German team.

Peter was born in Marseille, France and began playing soccer at a young age in the AS Cannes' youth system. He first started his pro career with Bordeaux for a year and then played for Marseille for two years before playing for another French team, Paris Saint-Germain for another two years. He went on loan in 2002 to Celta which eventually became permanent. A few years later he transferred to another La Liga club, Atletico Madrid where he played for them for three years. He eventually signed with Zaragoza and stayed there for another three years before signing with FC Lusanne-Sport in the Swiss Super League. In 2012, Luccin signed with FC Dallas. Luccin played internationally for the French U-20 National team in 1997 and was the youngest member of the eventual quarter-finalists during the FIFA World Youth Championship.

- What’s your favorite soccer memory from your career?

Peter: In 1998, the final game of UEFA Cup(now Europa League) when I played with Marseille

- You’ve played on a large number of teams and different countries…what’s been your favorite experience so far?

Peter: My favorite experience is probably the same game, it was a big moment for Marseille.

- You played for France in the FIFA world youth championship when you were 18, what was that like?

Peter: It’s a very good and interesting thing to represent my country so it was amazing to play against the best players of the world so it was a good experience and good memory.

- What’s your favorite part about being here in America?

Peter: A lot of things, I love the people because the people here have a very good education and for me it’s very important for my kids that’s why I’m here too so it’s a good thing for my family.

- What’s your favorite thing to do with your kids? Do they enjoy soccer at all?

Peter: We learn English together, it’s a very important language and we like to learn the culture. My son plays for FC Dallas youth so all my family here is very happy.

- What type of music do you listen to before game to get pumped up?

Peter: Rap music, but I try now to have a selection because rap music has so many bad words but I like the beat but sometimes it’s too hard for me to listen

- Who's been your favorite teammate you've had?

Peter: Jair Benitez. He’s a very good guy, he has a good education but he is very important for the group because everytime he’s smiling and joking with everyone so he’s the best teammate I’ve had.

- You drive a big truck…tell me about that

Peter: I got this truck from Eric Hassli [fomer FCD player] and I needed a car. I love the truck but my wife is the one who loves the truck the most.

- What’s your favorite you’ve scored?

Peter: With Atletico Madrid in 2004 against Barcelona, it was a big shot from far out and it was a very important game for us and I scored this goal and we won the game

- Have you picked up a Texan habit yet?

Peter: Not really because we like to stay with our culture, but I haven’t picked up any habits...yet.

FCD goalkeeper Raul Fernandez has earned yet another nomination for Save of the Week this season for his sprawling save against Pedro Morales in the 88th minute in FCD's draw against Vancouver on Sunday. You voted it as your favorite save of Raul's in Vancouver and now it's time to vote Raul for MLS Save of the Week!

WATCH: SOTW Week 20

The members of Real Madrid's squad arrived in Los Angeles on July 22 to begin their two week-long journey in the States. The team began training at the UCLA facilities the day they arrived and continued to have two-a-days until they flew to Oakland on July 26.

While the rest of the team was in Oakland, Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Los Angeles to begin his own training. After the session he signed hundreds of autographs for fans and posed for photos with them as well. Ronaldo joined other teammates who were not on the Inter Milan match lineup.

Famous faces have shown up at the team's training sessions at UCLA including David Beckham, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony who is a big soccer and Real Madrid fan.

David was born in Salto, Uruguay and lived there for almost his entire childhood. In 2010 when he was 18, he made his professional debut with a top club in Uruguay, Defensor Sporting. A year later he was transferred to FC Groningen, a team in Holland. In 2011, Texeira played in the U-20 World Cup with the Uruguay National Team. FC Dallas acquired David earlier this year. He has started in four games so far this season and has scored one goal for the team.

- What's your favorite soccer memory?

David: I think when I started to play in the first divison when I was 18 years old.

- You played in the Netherlands for a few years...what was your favorite part about being over there besides playing soccer?

David: It was also the life, living in Europe is totally different. Holland is a nice country with nice people and a different culture so it was nice to be over there and meet new people and see new cities. It was great.

- What's your favorite type of music?

David: Latino music of course, we like reggaeton but when I was in Europe I was used to listening to techno because that's what they listen to in Holland. There's a type of South American music called cumbia that I listen to a lot.

- What was it like growing up in Uruguay?

David: It was good, I was with my family and my friends and they've always supported me in soccer since I was 4 years old so it's been a long time.

- Is there anything you like to spend your money on?

David: Not really. I try to save it because this can be a short career so you have to be smart about it.

- What's your favorite part about being here in America so far?

David: I like being in America and as I told you before, it's nice to have a change and see new things and meet new people.

- Do you have a routine before each game?

David: Not really, I just try to relax and save energy and look ahead.

Before Wednesday's big game between FCD and Aston Villa, FC Dallas supporters faced off against Aston Villa supporters in a friendly soccer game in the blistering heat out on the Toyota Soccer Center complex. The supporters from both sides came out in full force as there were at least 20 players on each side. Aston Villa drew fans from all over the country, even some from their home country of England. One supporter, Paul Limpitlaw, is originally from Birmingham, England where the club is located, he now lives in Dallas and is very happy that the club is here to visit.

"These are great facilities here at FC Dallas and when I found out Aston Villa was coming to Dallas it was a dream come true for me because I travel over there to watch the games so this is brilliant for them to be here," Limpitlaw said.

The international supporters team had a special and talented player on their side, Lee Hendrie (pictured above in the middle), who used to play for Aston Villa and even had a few caps for the English National Team but is now retired. Hendrie is traveling with the team as a team ambassador and he had nothing but great things to say about the support here in Dallas.

"It's fantastic for the fans to get involved and all the guys are brilliant and the support has been fantastic so I've enjoyed it," said Hendrie.

One FC Dallas supporter, Jay Neal a Dallas Beer Guardian thought their team did a good job shutting the ex-player down and keeping him to only a few goals. He was pleased with the way the game turned out and how much fun everyone had.

"It was a blast, especially with an international team like this and everybody comes out and shakes hands at the end and had a good time," Neal said.

The game ended in a 7 to 7 tie so it was an entertaining match not only to watch but for the players to play in as well.

Now that the USSDA 2013/2014 season has come to an end, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy named its conference award winners and FC Dallas had a number of players and honors on that coveted list. Below are the awards FC Dallas and players won:

Under 15/16 Best Midfielders in Central Sonference: Coy Craft

Under 17/18 Best Defenders in Central Sonference: Jordan Cano and Kristoffer Reaves